3 . One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap (包装).

On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is.” What an honour! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!

One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it.Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous.

Christmas was coming. “Don’t expect any presents this year,” Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room.“If your baby brother lives, that’ll be Christmas enough.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen him cry before.

The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”

“Thank God!” I heard Mum cry.

From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!

5 . My grandparents actively practiced simplicity. They both grew up in very large families and _________ the Great Depression. Saving for a rainy day was their life philosophy. They chose to spend really _________ life together with their family rather than seeking _________ through material items.

Over the years my grandparents have noticed _________ changes in their community. Every year more farmland was _________ to build larger and larger homes. As real estate (地产) prices rose, many of their neighbors _________ their little homes and land. Soon theirs was _________ little house surrounded by the sea of mansions. Lots of family members _________ my grandparents to expand their little old house. But they didn’t want a bigger one. They loved their little house and were _________ with what they had.

They also __________ everything. For instance, they had driven the same car for over 15 years and didn’t buy a new one until the old Chevrolet was __________.

Through their example, I learned an important __________: it is possible to live a simple life. My grandparents taught me that living a simple life isn’t about self-deprivation (自我牺牲). __________, it’s about giving yourself the time, freedom and money to pursue your dreams. Becoming debt free, living in a __________ building, and going out on foot are good ways to __________ your life and start pursuing your dreams.

Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave. The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?” “Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.

“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man “Come in.” The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently. “What is it?” asked the man kindly. “Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!” Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you number the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?” Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel indebted. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?” On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.

Nearing the doorway. Jenny took a deep breath.

A gentle touch on her hair called her mind back.

9 . Recently an old friend reached out to me to ask about the success I’ve had in my life or at least what ________ success on social media and how I achieved it. Because we have the ________ goals——get in shape, get into music more seriously, and be good at ________.

Though I haven’t ________ reached my long-term goals yet, he’s seen that I’ve made some progress on my journey to achieving these goals and wanted my ________.

We had a(n) ________ on the phone about this for an hour and a half and it seemed like he was ________ by my experience at last. A week went by and he told me that he ________ a personal fitness class. He is also studying music, and often sends me some videos of him studying Chinese. He often ________ all of the progress he’s making on social media.

I’m thankful for him giving me the ________ to give him suggestions, and I’m glad to see that he’s spending the time and money ________ himself. He even posted recently about how happy he is with all the recent ________ in his life.

Even if you’re still not where you want to be, there are a lot of people out there who ________ what you have and who are impressed with how far you’ve come. It’s good to realize how far you’ve come, be ________ for what you have done, and recognize how much you can ________ others to achieve the same.